When Sachin Tendulkar completed his final match at the Wankhede, he completed 24 years of service to the country, more than a decade of which was spent with the entire nation glued to their television screens hoping 'God' would deliver. There were times he didn't, proving even heroes are human. But when he did, he brought joy to a billion hearts...

It's quite hard to imagine such a universally respected man as Sachin Tendulkar, but the man widely regarded as the greatest batsman in the game has managed to win friends wherever he's gone with his easy-going, friendly manner. No wonder then, that the news that he would retire after his 200th test match against the West Indies was met with such a mixture of dismay and admiration.

The role of the BCCI as pantomime villain of world cricket continues. Just as news of a Test series involving India neglecting the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) had begun to induce a mere sigh of resignation in place of erstwhile outright consternation, they have upped the stakes.

Kolkata's famous Eden Garden for a brief period looked like the Biblical Paradise on Wednesday. The thin crowd went back home happy because the god of Indian cricket, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, shrugged off his long stretch of poor form.

It would be hard to argue that Sachin Tendulkar is anything other than the greatest batsman of our generation. The stats speak volumes. Louder than the cheers that rocked the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka when the Little Master finally reached the unprecedented landmark of 100 international 100s

It remains to be seen whether Tendulkar pushes on and re-enters a purple patch at the fag-end of his career, but with this weight off his shoulders, one suspects that there is one last flicker in Sachin's flame.

Browsing various cricketing websites and forums, an almost religious tendency of mine during any given day, I get the distinct impression that many Indian pundits and fans alike are a little 'doom and gloom', shall we say, concerning the future prospects of their side in Test cricket.

England's cricket batsman Kevin Pietersen averaged 11 runs in the recent test series against Pakistan, but still wanted to play in this year's IPL (Indian Premier League). His coach, Andy Flower, believes that the IPL stunts Test batting, and has hinted that Pietersen's IPL bug might cost him his Test career.